Prospective students and their families bring varying criteria to evaluating schools, says Chris Busch, associate vice-president of enrolment management.

“Of course, they want to attend an institution where they’ll receive a high-quality education,” he says. “They also want to ensure a positive and encouraging culture filled with opportunities to explore interests, make new friends, and feel accepted: a place where they will thrive.”

The University’s new student ambassadors program celebrates that diversity of experience with 32 current students, undergraduate and graduate, domestic and international, representing all faculties.

“Prospective students feel more comfortable asking a peer-pointed question about the day-to-day campus experience than a staff or faculty member, who is often seen as an authority figure. Our student ambassadors build trust and a layer of authenticity to our enrolment efforts,” sa

“They foster relationships with prospective students by sharing their stories. Their Lancer experiences provide prospective students and their families with a window into the reality of our institution, something they cannot find in Maclean’s.”

The program provides leadership and on-campus work-integrated learning opportunities for the students while enhancing their personal and professional skills.

“The student ambassador program has the potential to be transformative to the campus culture itself and is something I am very proud to support,” says Dr. Busch.

An Oct. 13 event introduced campus partners to the student ambassador team, including 14 global student ambassadors from 12 countries. They will contribute to social media channels in different languages, participate in recruitment events with regional recruiters, and share all that Windsor offers with prospects and incoming international students.

To help students navigate the transition to university, recruiters are leveraging the peer-to-peer communication platform Unibuddy. Purpose-built for higher education teams to engage prospective students, the program offers opportunities for student ambassadors to highlight their lives on campus and in the community. In the first two weeks following a soft launch in September, it registered almost 300 students from 36 countries.

Learn more about student ambassadors by visiting future.uwindsor.ca/student-ambassadors.